Yesterday, I wrote briefly about the 7.9 M earthquake that occurred in the mountainous area near the margin of the Sichuan Basin. Rescue workers are having a difficult time reaching villages in this remote and mountanous region. The google earth image below shows the difficulty faced by the rescue workers. Here the mountains average 2400 m to 3000 m (7800 feet to 9000 feet) high.

The epicenter of the quake, shown in the map below, and the subsequent earthquake waves impacted millions of people. The closer one is to the epicenter, the greater the potential structural damage, and the greater the chance that people will be injured or killed. In the second image below, I’ve shown the “skake-zone of the earthquake indicating the intensity of shaking that occurred during the quake. The China earthquake directly impacted more than 32 million people. I’ve collected data, and shown it in the chart below.

Although the Chinese government has reached out Japan and Tiawan, there is growing concern that the low level of earthquake preparedness, especially in the building structures of schools, had led to the deaths of thousands of children. In some cases, entire schools collapsed, with as many as 1,000 students buried in the ruble. It is estimated that nearly 7,000 schools were destroyed. In one report, an investigation into these collapses has been called for. Whether it will come to fruition, we’ll have to wait and see.

At this time, the rescue work is difficult in these remote villages. The Red Cross, as well as other relief agencies, are responding as quickly as they can.